


Concerned and Caring

by Trinket



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Superman - All Media Types
Genre: Caretaking, Established Relationship, M/M, Serious Injuries
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-15
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-16 17:08:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,446
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29457261
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Trinket/pseuds/Trinket
Summary: Batman watched in horror as Superman plummeted from the sky, and is determined to help in regards to recovery.Written by this pinch-hitter and based on prompt number five of the Batsupes Secret Valentines Exchange Event
Relationships: Bruce Wayne/Clark Kent
Comments: 4
Kudos: 51
Collections: Batsupes Secret Valentines Exchange 2021





	Concerned and Caring

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Firondoiel](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Firondoiel/gifts).



> Thanks goes to JusticePlague and Leo_Our_Queen for their cheer work and beta.
> 
> 5\. Prompt: Seriously injured Clark being taken care of by Bruce  
> Rating of Fic Preferred: Any  
> Up to Four Deal-Breakers: Major character death  
> I especially enjoy: Hurt/Comfort, worried and overprotective Bruce

Batman gasped when he saw his partner falling right out of the sky. That great a distance would have killed any human. What was worse was that Superman had been trying to divert the damn nuclear weapon that had been launched. The Justice League had missed  _ one _ of the codes that their rogue's galleries had set off. At least they hadn’t found all of the codes, and some of the missiles had already been defunct and useless. Just shells to make those who owned them looked more fearsome than they actually were. But they’d been needed to keep other countries from invading and declaring war for the smallest of reasons.  _ Ridiculous. _

And, in the process, it had blown up in Superman’s face. Batman just hoped there hadn’t been any kryptonite involved, or nearby in space. Even the tiniest rock could prove deadly to the last hope of Krypton, the beacon of hope of Earth.

He rushed toward where he predicted the other man’s body to drop. If he could have caught him in his arms he would have, but the momentum was too much. And with the body having just gone through the atmosphere and beyond and back down again, Superman’s body was bound to be too hot to the touch.

With a grimace he watched him splash down into the harbor. It took the carefully controlled speed of The Flash to keep it from becoming a tidal wave. He witnessed the water bubbling as he and those nearby heard a sizzle before it dispersed.

Spotting the Batsub he pulled the top open and slid in. Pulled the lid shut and directed it to dive down into the waters of the wide river mouth between Gotham and Metropolis.

Clark  _ had _ to be okay. If only they’d been better prepared. They’d been prepared enough to take care of all the other missiles both launched and unlaunched. If they hadn’t missed  _ this  _ **_one,_ ** then Superman wouldn’t have fallen from the sky like a branch during the onslaught of a hurricane.

Aquaman could have rescued him, but Arthur Curry was nowhere in sight. He’d had to defuse the situation upon one of the coasts on the other side of the world.

Deploying the grabbers from the Batsub and turning on the underwater light, he sought out the dark haired Kryptonian in red and blue. He still wasn’t sure how the suit could survive being blasted by a nuclear weapon, but it had to be because of the Kryptonian fabric. Some of Clark’s super suits however were made of fabrics found on Earth when his usual one was covered in kryptonite dust particles and the Fortress was taking too long to create a new suit.

His gaze zeroed in on a floating body that had fish swimming away from it. An entire school of them had been disturbed, but he assumed it was the heat more than some random humanoid body that had disturbed them. Too many bodies had been washed ashore from here, or found during a police sweep when persons came up missing. It had, after all, at one point or another been a favorite spot for mobsters to get rid of bodies. Not so much since it had been discovered.

Directing the Batsub in the direction where the body floated, he pulled on the controls and pressed buttons. The grabbers on the outside of the underwater mode of transportation opened and then clamped around the figure. Once he was assured that Clark’s - that  _ Superman’s _ \- body wasn’t about to slip through his fingers he used the Batsub’s controls to resurface above the water and headed for Gotham’s shore.

It looked like the members of the Justice League had gathered, despite what part of the world they’d been in. Flash probably had something to do with that in part, as well as Hawkman and Hawkgirl. More likely the Martian Manhunter had directed zeta beams from the watchtower to get members of the Justice League from one location to another.

When he got out of the Batsub after releasing the tenuous hold the grabbers had on the world’s first known  _ superhero _ he knelt down beside Clark’s currently vulnerable body and began to lift him up in his arms.

Wonder Woman neared and spoke, “Allow me to carry him.”

Batman shook his head. “I’ve got him. J’onn do you think you could send a zeta beam to take us to the watchtower. Kal needs immediate medical attention.” The man in his arms barely took a breath, but he didn’t exactly need to breathe.  _ Under normal circumstances. _ He was far more pale than usual, as if he’d been under the influence of kryptonite. Which was something they’d need to look for in case it had been a part of the nuclear weapon he’d diverted into space. Bruce  _ hated _ that paleness compared to Clark's usual golden tan. It always meant something was seriously wrong.

When dark lashes began to flutter after J’onn nodded and responded, “I shall get ready for your arrival,” he heard Clark let out a groan.

It was not a sound of pleasure, which Bruce much preferred to hear from those lips. 

“What hit me?” He asked groggily.

“Nuclear weapon.” Bruce stated, his mouth formed in a thin grim line.

Clark grimaced and winced when he tried to move.

“Don’t move,” He growled at him and watched those gorgeous blue eyes widen.

  
  
“Yes, sir, Batman, sir.”

The corners of Bruce’s lips quirked. They were then both transported via a zeta beam to the Watchtower’s medical ward.

  
  
Leslie Thompkins, the doctor on call for all of the Justice League’s medical needs due to her ability to keep a secret, walked up to them. “Are you hurt, Bruce?”

Batman shook his head. “No. I’m fine. Clark is the one that was injured.”

  
  
She nodded and looked to Clark in his Superman regalia. A rather quiet man, but Bruce wasn’t sure it was because of the pain, or if he was trying to be stoic due to his injuries.

“Place him on the gurney and we’ll get x-rays right away. It looks like one of his bones might be protruding from his flesh there,” she pointed to the awkward angle that Clark’s right leg was bent along his shin.

Bruce’s lips pursed into a thin line, again, at the sight of his partner injured. It was rare, but at least he wasn’t dead. Even Bruce hadn’t had any injuries that bad. Well there had been the broken back thanks to Bane. That had been  _ very _ unpleasant.

Clark groaned in agony upon Bruce setting him, as gently as possible, on the gurney Leslie had indicated.

“The suit is going to need to come off,” the doctor said while getting the x-ray room ready for one very injured Superman.

“Got it,” Batman found a pair of surgical scissors used for fabrics and began snipping at the Kryptonian suit around the injuries and heard Clark hiss through his teeth. At least he hadn’t directed his heat vision at him.

He hadn’t been sure the scissors could manage and wondered if there was a hint of kryptonite in them for just this sort of purpose or not. He set them aside once Clark was down to his birthday suit and placed a sheet over him. He looked up and glared at those who’d arrived at the doorway to the room.

“You’ll have to wait. Go have a seat in the meeting room for now.” Clark didn’t need them getting in the doctors way or accidentally jostling him while in pain. Bruce could only imagine how much more painful it had to feel for Clark when he didn’t usually have experience with pain.

  
  
Some of them went to follow orders easily, others were more reluctant to do so. Oliver, Arthur, Hal, and Diana chose to linger behind before leaving. One of his hands curled into a fist. Those four he had to watch out for. He could see the look in their eyes and the way they tried to casually touch Clark when it wasn’t just a casual touch any of them wanted. And the intrepid reporter, the last son of Krypton didn’t appear to be aware of just what kind of attention he garnered from them.

No way was he going to let them horn in on  _ his territory. _

But even he had to wait outside the x-ray room as the doctor set Clark up to be scanned. It would tell them any and all injuries Superman had sustained.

Batman glanced at the images as they began to appear on the board. “Three cracked ribs. One punctured lung. He’ll need surgery for that, or it will heal in that position.” He didn’t think Clark had ever had surgery before. Certainly not to the extent he’d need for this. “A cracked right femur. A broken left tibia. A hairline fracture along the left collarbone. A broken left humerus. A broken right ulna and radius.” He wasn’t sure if the x-ray was getting every injury or not, but that was a lot. He didn’t even think Darkseid had injured Superman as much as the nuclear weapon had.

Clark was going to need around the clock care. He didn’t need to be told it, not even by Dr. Leslie Thompkins. The evidence was right there for anyone to see if they came in to look over the x-rays.

  
  
When the doctor came back out and pushed the gurney to the medical wing's bed, Bruce stated “Clark is coming home with me. I’ve got a solar bed for him  _ and _ someone will always be there to care for him." Which if he had his way, would be himself. But their adopted children and the children they’d had with women before they had gotten together would all be more than willing to lend a hand. Although perhaps they’d take over his patrols so he could spend the time caring for Clark.

Leslie raised a brow.

Clark blinked. “Bruce? Come on, I can just stay here.”

Batman glared at him. “No. You’re coming home with me. You’ll be safe there and you won’t be bothered by all the members of the League when you should be resting and healing.”

Leslie glanced between the pair. “Well... Bruce does have a point, Clark.”

“But I like everyone on the Justice League. I don’t mind.”

And wasn’t that the point? Clark  _ liked _ everyone. He could easily be manipulated and taken advantage of. What if Bruce wasn’t taking care of him and then Arthur brought in some fish soup and tried to get Clark to agree to a date with him? Bruce wasn’t going to allow the man a chance.

This whole thing set back their romantic dinner date and his plans to propose. Because there was no way he wasn’t going to put a ring on it as the song went that he’d heard Dick and Clark dancing to before.

  
  
“Still, I think Clark should stay here twenty-four to forty-eight hours for observation and then he can go with you, Bruce.”

“He goes with me today.  _ Now.” _

Clark’s brows raised and he spoke, without moving any other part of his body. It was easy to tell he was trying his best not to move so as to spare himself any unnecessary pain. Not that he wasn’t in any and there was very little, if anything that they could give him to spare him from it. 

  
  
“Come on, Bruce. It’s only twenty-four hours.”

“You’ll be safer in Gotham where I can keep an eye on you. And the kids will be happier if you’re home than at the Watchtower where everyone will monopolize your time.” It was an excuse, but a valid and reasonable one so far as he was concerned.

Clark sighed. “Fine, Bruce. Target my weaknesses, why don’t you?”

J’onn J’onzz came to the door and asked, “How soon do you want the zeta beam ready?”

“Ten minutes ago.”

“Bruce!” Clark frowned.

With a sigh Bruce rephrased, “As soon as you’re able, J’onn.”

Leslie asked, “What about the surgeries that Clark requires so that his bones don’t set in awkward positions?”

“It can be done in the Batcave’s medical bay, or in a private Operating Room in Gotham itself.”

“The Batcave it is. Don’t need anyone barging in on Superman in Krypton garb, or in his civilian identity.” Leslie commented.

“True,” Batman grunted. “We can do without the villains and their henchmen infiltrating the OR and making a tenuous situation worse.” As he spoke his hand had wandered to Clark’s hair, his fingers gently threading through the soft strands.

Clark’s eyes closed as a soft sigh passed between his slightly parted lips.

Leslie, otherwise known as Doctor Thompkins gave a slight nod and sat down in front of a large monitor and began typing information up. “This is the itinerary of when the surgeries will take place, who will be there helping with them, and what exactly needs to happen during each one. Your stock of kryptonite may be needed. Try to keep him away from the sun until  _ after _ the surgeries have been performed.”

“Right.” He took the stack of printed paper and turned his head to gaze down at his beloved partner in all ways. “We’ll be home soon, Clark.”

Clark hummed. “Sounds nice. If only my bones were in agreement.”

Before Batman could respond, the zeta beam wrapped around them and they were teleported directly onto the property of the Wayne Estate in front of the gate.

Good thing it was evening and the sun just a sliver behind several clouds. The gurney Clark had been on had also been transported with them, so he only had to roll him through the gates and into the manor. Where they found Alfred and all of the Kent and Wayne children, adopted, fostered, or not just waiting for them.

“No hugging Clark, he’s too injured and will be needing surgery so his bones don’t mend together wrong.” He stated what he felt was most important before glancing at Alfred. 

“Alfred, could you get a bowl of soup ready and if anyone knows where any straws are those are currently a necessity.” He wasn’t going to allow his lover to starve or to grow parched.

  
  
Alfred bowed. “Yes, Master Bruce. If you should need me, I’ll be in the kitchen.”

“Thank you,” Clark smiled at him. 

  
  
Bruce nodded to Alfred and glanced at the many boys and girls - men and women - who stood in the family room.

  
  
Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Tim Drake, Stephanie Brown, Damian Wayne, Cassandra Cain, and Duke Thomas. Kara Danvers, Christopher Kent, Mia Kent, Ariella Kent, Conner Kent, and Jonathan Samuel Kent. Even Barbara Gordon was there As well as Harper Row and Cullen Row. Most of them were grown and living somewhere other than at the Manor.

“Look how much you’re loved, Clark.”

“Hmmn, but look how much  _ you’re _ loved, Bruce.”

“What?” Bruce’s brow furrowed in confusion.

“B, they aren’t here for me. Yes, they love me, they’re happy to see me, though maybe not in my current condition, but they didn’t come here for me,” Clark gently told him. Bruce always did have trouble understanding how thoroughly he was loved. It was why Clark always made it a point to point it out to him. “They’re here for you, Bruce. They didn’t know you were bringing me home today.”

“Hmm,” Bruce hummed, his brows still furrowed in thought. 

He glanced around the room, brows arched and saw the sheepish looks, the awkward grins on their faces. And the crossed arms of one Jason Todd who had his gaze turned away, but nodded to him.

_ This _ was  _ their _ family. Even if they didn’t have a biological child between them - they still had a big family.

Looking back at Clark, he smiled. “I see. Well, they’ll all have to wait their turns to have a moment with you.” He turned to the kids, “I do hope you’re all aware of your current missions. To substitute for myself as Batman and Clark as Superman until his full recovery.”

Everyone stared at Bruce like he’d been replaced by a robot.

Clark chuckled, then winced and tilted his head back with a sigh. “He’s been pretty adamant about that.”

Dick flashed his teeth in a jaunty grin, “I’m glad  _ someone _ can get him to take a vacation. Even if it's not a vacation per say.”

Damian grumbled when he was led out of the room with the others.

Bruce sat at Clark’s side and spoon fed Clark the soup when Alfred arrived with it. The butler didn’t stick around long as he had other duties to perform, or so he said.

“I love you, Bruce,” Clark said, staring at him.

Bruce blinked and smirked, “Good. I love you too. But you’re still not getting a hug until after the surgery for your rib.”

Clark sighed and Bruce could see it was painful each time. They both had high hopes that the surgery could take place as early as tomorrow morning if a reliable team could be formed who’d keep hush-hush about who their patient was.

Bruce stayed with Clark, holding his hand, brushing his thumb over the soft flesh between thumb and forefinger. When the beautiful ethereal being fell asleep, Bruce got up and slept in the cot in the room. It may not have been as comfortable as his own bed, but he couldn’t bring himself to leave Clark’s side, not even for a minute.

In the morning, Dr. Thompkins had a team and with the use of a small piece of kryptonite on a blade they were able to perform the surgery. Once Batman had made sure there was something to knock Superman out with as if he’d been given anesthesia. That Jor-El AI did sometimes come in handy.

Not allowed to stay in the operating room, but he could see through the one way window what was going on inside, he paced on the outside. He couldn’t eat, and barely drank anything unless Alfred or one of the members of the batfamily forced him to down even just a bottle of water.

Hours later, when Superman’s surgery was over, his rib bone reset so that it wasn’t piercing his lung, the kryptonite was removed from the room. The darkening drapes were flung open so that the yellow sun could help the solar energy lamps that they’d turned on just after they’d stitched him up.

Batman was allowed to go in and sit by his side.

Superman looked up and smiled. “Hello, Batman.”

  
  
He knew he’d have to do it later too, but now, he couldn’t bring himself to wait any longer. He knelt at Superman’s bedside, opened up one part of his utility belt and pulled out a ring box.

Superman blinked. “Kryptonite?  _ Now?” _

Batman smirked and stared into Superman’s eyes as he opened the ring box. It had a sapphire gem in the middle with diamonds surrounding it. It was a man’s band. Of course anyone looking wouldn’t know that he’d made sure that the gemstones could change color so that they’d never know that Clark and Superman were one and the same individual.

“Superman… this isn’t Kryptonite. In fact, Kal-El, this is me, begging you please, to marry me.”

He watched as Superman’s pupils got larger and his mouth parted. Then he blinked. “You almost never beg.”

“Mn, that’s usually you, pretty boy.”

Neither noticed that the kids had gathered outside with Alfred, nor that someone had been recording the whole thing.

Barbara however noticed and swiped the data feed. No one should have been recording, as Clark hadn’t signed off on being a part of some live operating show. But it looked like it had only been a mistake, but still she and Tim made sure there were no leaks.

Even Martha Kent was there with her husband, both having been flown in on a Wayne Jet. Though neither said why they were there other than that they were big fans of Superman.

  
  
Martha whispered, and Clark heard, “You still haven’t given him an answer, Clark.”

  
  
Superman flushed and grinned at Batman, “Don’t look now, but our entire family is out there and someone reminded me I didn’t answer yet.”

Bruce gulped. “And your answer?” 

Clark lifted his left hand and brushed his fingertips over Batman’s gloved wrist. “Yes, always, yes, B.”

  
  
Batman slid the engagement ring onto Superman’s finger and leaned in to brush his lips over his fiancée’s. Unfortunately they had company, but the way they looked at each other left no one in question of what they planned on doing once they were alone together.

**Author's Note:**

> It is with great hope that readers enjoyed this mini tale. Firondoiel, hopefully I managed to do something you enjoyed with your prompt.


End file.
